At long last, the snow seems to have stopped falling and we’ve enjoyed more than a few warm days. Spring is upon us, at last. Unless, of course, it isn’t. The weather can be tricky like that.

Regardless, odds are that the snow has, or is soon to be melted away, revealing your lawn underneath. If you are like a lot of people, you’re probably not completely happy about what you’re seeing. Perhaps your lawn looks mostly okay, but there are some bare spots here and there, or areas where the turf is thin thanks to heavy foot traffic.

Don’t worry, you can fix these minor problems and have a healthy lawn before summer. In fact, spring is the perfect time for doing patch work to ensure the new grass is able to grow in completely. Of course, if you don’t, you’re only inviting weeds to take up residence where your grass is thin. It’s always better to prevent the problem than try to fix it after the fact.

In order to maximize your efforts and ensure the best results, follow the below steps to fix bare of thin spots:

Determine the cause of the problem. If you know why you have bare or thin spots in your yard, you can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future, whether than be laying down pesticide or adding paving stones to reduce foot traffic over your grass.

If the bare spot was caused by a spill, such as gasoline, remove several inches of soil from the area and replace with new topsoil.

Apply seed to the area, taking care to plant the same type of grass as the rest of the yard.

Fertilize the area.

Cover the new seed with straw. This will help hold in moisture, as well as prevent birds from eating the seeds before they can germinate.

Water well.

If you’re looking for a slightly easier solution, there are several available. Many companies make products specifically to fill in bare patches. These include patch kits with blended seed, mulch, and fertilizer; and germination blankets that can be cut to shape.